The Top 9 Benefits of SEO for Your Business
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the best solution for sustainable, organic business growth.
SEO involves a series of long-term efforts like:
- Technical website improvements
- Keyword additions
- Link building
- Optimization for global or local algorithms
SEO techniques also change often alongside algorithm updates and shifts in keyword trends.
An optimized website requires constant maintenance to rank on the search engine results page (SERP). Search engine optimization also requires training and time each month dedicated to only SEO. For this reason, many business owners don't have the time to invest in SEO work.
Our SEO team has spent years building our client's visibility with SEO best practices. Learn the 9 proven ways an SEO plan can help your business grow below.
1. SEO Keeps You Competitive
The digital landscape is always changing. Algorithms evolve, customer search terms shift, and web content goes stale.
Case in point, both Google and Bing recently implemented AI tools in their search engines. Already, AI tools are changing how customers use search engines to explore the web. Unfortunately, no SEO expert can predict how AI will change the algorithms. So, constant monitoring of current search behavior will be vital.
Your competition will always be optimizing for search. They'll become more and more visible on the search engine results page (SERP) over time. Customer search terms will also change as culture shifts.
So, work to stay on top of shifts in the SEO landscape to raise your visibility. Regular help from SEO professionals can help you keep pace.
2. SEO Connects You to Your Local Audience
According to Google, "50% of local, mobile searches resulted in a store visit within the same day. Additionally, 34% of desktop and tablet searches yielded similar results. Appearing high in local search or Google's local pack is critical for finding customers in your local market.
JTech's Local Map Pack Listing
Local SEO also emphasizes optimization for your Google Business Profile (GBP). GBP optimization is one of the single most essential things in local SEO.
We've found that business profiles will benefit you in several ways. First, your GBP provides a quick summary of your business to new customers. A well-optimized GBP will also raise your website's visibility on the SERP.
Local SEO is a must for brick-and-mortar businesses. We recommend local SEO to businesses with physical locations like restaurants and boutiques.
3. SEO Keeps Your Marketing Copy Fresh
Google’s algorithm maintains a freshness score for every website. Yet, their development team doesn't make freshness scores visible to website owners.
So, we created a reasonable rule of thumb. It's safe to assume that the copy on your website should change in some capacity every six months. Stay alert for drops in visibility independent of any other factors. This likely indicates that your copy has gone stale to Google's algorithm.
Keeping your website content fresh can take many forms, including:
- Writing news or blog posts
- Refreshing the keywords used on your website
- Revising the wording on your website to match the latest iteration of your brand
- Optimizing your on-page content
Creating fresh content also has other positive effects. Customers appreciate new information to engage with—increasing on-page time. Algorithm changes also seem to impact sites that generate new, high-quality content less.
The easiest way to keep your content fresh is with an SEO or content marketing plan. SEO management offers gradual, ongoing optimizations. Content marketing plans include regular, longer-form blog posts/articles.
Sill, either plan will keep your site content stay fresh and resilient to a shifting algorithm.
4. SEO Strategies Create a Lasting Impact
SEO is an investment that needs regular maintenance to yield long-term results. Still, high visibility takes a long time to achieve.
It's harder to lose your spot in search when Google's search algorithm sees you as an expert.
What's more, given enough time and effort, SEO will likely net you as many—if not more—conversions than PPC ads.
5. SEO Benefits Other Digital Marketing Strategies
Styalized Google Maps Marker Pointing to a Local Business
Google's algorithm gives websites that advertise on their search engine a spam score. Pay-per-click advertisement (PPC) prices will even increase if a website isn't search-optimized. PPC advertisements also enjoy the brand recognition SEO campaigns create.
The more visible your brand is, the more likely customers are to convert. The benefit of visibility also extends into the offline advertising space. A boost in visibility anywhere can increase marketing performance across the board.
6. Any Level of Search Engine Optimization Broadens Your Reach
Even minimal search engine optimization can improve your visibility if you use a focused SEO strategy.
Our team of marketing professionals offers several levels and types of SEO services. Even a base plan can have a massive impact on your visibility—depending on your competition.
7. Technical SEO Benefits Website Usability
Google created their SEO requirements to guarantee a good experience for Google search users. So, Google holds the sites it displays on the results page to a high standard.
Page load speed, accessible features, UX, and UI design all play a part in determining how 'good' your site is. Each of these factors also determines whether visitors view your website as worth their time.
Optimal Results from a Lighthouse page test—Google's metric for SEO performance
According to Google, 53% of mobile users will abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Businesses need an accessible website to do business online per government regulations.
Websites need specific features to allow every visitor easy access to their content. It also helps search engines index your website. Good web design builds trust, an essential component of purchasing decisions.
Our SEO plans include technical SEO fixes and content updates to keep pace with Google’s algorithm.
8. Professional SEO Helps Clarify Business Strategy
Effective SEO needs good data. JTech's search engine optimization experts track site statistics with professional monitoring tools. To name a few, JTech monitors:
- Total traffic
- Keyword position
- Site Visibility
Our team reports on performance quarterly or monthly, depending on your plan. Organized traffic data can also help you understand your sales funnel, audience, and competition. Finally, our SEO plans include a detailed keyword & competitor research report. These reports give you critical insights into the market landscape.
We recommend that every business set up website traffic analytics—even if you don't have SEO services.
9. SEO Benefits Your Entire Web Presence
One of the most important optimization strategies for businesses is off-page optimization. That includes actions like:
- Getting links from high authority referring domains
- Building out review site profiles
- Optimizing Google Business Profiles (GBP).
Method aside, off-page optimization increases the chance clients have to find your site.
Off-page SEO leverages the popularity of sites like Yelp and FourSquare to reinforce your brand. Off-page optimization also boosts any on-page and technical optimization efforts you perform.
The Types of SEO That Can Benefit Your Business
So, should you focus on local, global, or eCommerce audiences to see the benefits of SEO?
LOCAL SEO
All search engines have a location-based version of their normal algorithm. For example, Bozeman residents can search 'restaurant' and only get results for restaurants in Bozeman. Local algorithms also look for different, location-specific variations of more popular keywords.
Local SEO focuses on optimizing for regional keyword variations and Google Maps-based searches. If your business relies on a physical location or has a regional service area, we recommend local SEO.
GLOBAL SEO
Global SEO is often synonymous with the term SEO itself. Global SEO optimizes for non-local search. Our SEO team has found that global SEO is best suited to larger businesses. For example, we emphasize aspects of global SEO for Financial Education, Inc—one of our local SEO customers.
Financial Education, Inc is a national brand that markets to banks, credit unions, and hospitals throughout the United States. They also partner with many local businesses. So, we use global SEO to promote their main sites. Then, Financial Education, Inc's regional partners use local SEO to promote their local websites.
Global SEO also includes global versions of local SEO best practices. This includes actions like GBP management and keyword optimization.
ECOMMERCE SEO
Online stores will benefit the most from eCommerce SEO. eCommerce SEO is the only SEO practice that uses Google's Merchant Center. Products entered into the merchant center can appear on Google's shopping tab.
Effective eCommerce SEO puts your products in front of customers in an efficient way.
Talk to Our Team About Building Your SEO Strategy
Our SEO experts have helped many businesses in Bozeman and Southwest Montana grow.
We encourage you to reach out if you're considering an SEO strategy for your business. Our team of digital marketing professionals will help you create a plan perfect for growing your business.